Antawn Jamison talked to his former college teammate shortly after Vince Carter was traded from Toronto to the Nets.

“When that happened, he told me, ‘All those people who doubted me will be taught a lesson,’ ” Jamison said of Carter. “He never talks like that. People were bad-mouthing him and he wanted to prove them wrong.”

Carter has done that, especially during the Nets’ recent playoff drive that they tried to continue against Jamison and the Wizards last night at the Meadowlands.

The Nets, with only last night’s game and another in Boston tonight remaining in the regular season, are battling Cleveland for that final spot in the Eastern Conference. Carter has helped the cause, scoring 82 points in the previous two contests.

“As well as I expected him to play, he’s even surprised me,” said Jamison, who reached the Final Four with Carter in 1998 at North Carolina.

And while Washington will be either the fourth or fifth seed in the East and could play the Nets in the second round, Jamison was pulling for the Nets to make it.

“I would love to see him in the playoffs,” Jamison said. “I respect his game so much that a matchup with the Nets would be great.”

Jamison doesn’t think he’s alone in his thinking.

“I think the NBA needs Vince Carter in the playoffs,” Jamison said.

So why the change? Jamison believes that there’s a fairly simple explanation.

“Just a change of scenery can do it,” Jamison said. “Having Jason Kidd as a teammate helps, too. The way they’re playing now, they’re a dangerous combination.”